The Devil's Race 2 Desolate

Fenric enjoyed the sensation as a light breeze blew over him as he lay in the crows nest of the TRANSMISSION nodding head head along to a small portable radio near his head, his glaive laid down on his other side as he listened to the lightly blaring twangs of a guitar through its tiny speaker, half of it lost in static but he didn't mind. Of course, there weren't many radio stations running anymore. Nobody would pay so much money to find and upkeep such technology simply to send music out across the shattered lands. Nobody but me thought Fenric as a small smirk crept its way onto his face as he relaxed.

This ship is what kept him going, kept him together as he drifted through the different cities of the shattered lands, seeing the same oppressive scene of masses of people struggling to survive while those few with the power hoarded any and all resources they could touch with their tainted hands. Others frown when he searches through an entire city for any and all forms of music recorded using old tech, vinyl, CD, Cassette it was all sought after. Their jaws dropped when this young man who looked as if he couldn't afford another meal paid vast amounts of coin that many would kill for, for these seemingly useless remnants of old tech. Little did they know that this young man ran the first Radio station to appear in a century!

Even Fenric himself didn't realise that when he first launched the TRANSMISSION after he had built it, he had caused an upheaval as he transmitted music across the lands. In the trade markets and scrap yards previously useless small boxes suddenly produced music not heard in centuries when given power. Things that weren't worth a thing became valuable commodities. Fenric just loved the sound of these songs and melodies previously lost to time. The first time he was introduced to them by his brother, he knew he would search far and wide for more. The TRANSMISSION simply became a radio station as well as a ship after he realised that most people wouldn't have heard any of this music at all. Fenric smiled as he pondered those past days, just him and his big brother. Their project. Their secret.

His smirk vanished as his daydreams and recollections turned bittersweet. The little radio lying next to him barely managing to blast some music through the static it produced. Fenric didn't try to repair or replace it though. This was the last thing he had left of his brother. He cherished it, static and all.

A loud crash of metal interrupted Fenric's thoughts and truthfully, he wasn't sure whether to be thankful or sad. He buried his emotion as he jumped straight down from the crows nest to the dock floor, locking onto 4 figures surrounding a covered metal cage as he landed on his toes nimbly, staying in a low crouch with his glaive at the ready, looking at the men in front of him.

All 4 looked at him in shock as they took in the 30 meter distance from the crows nest at the top of the TRANSMISSION to the young man in front of them, not to mention the fact that his leap needed to be huge to clear the rest of his ship and land straight on the dock floor. Their leader at the front recovered quickly, instantly regaining his professional aura.

"Package delivered as Promised. I was told to also remind you that although there is no time limit as such, if the package is not delivered to its destination, the consequences will be dire." At that, the 4 men turned and swiftly vacated the dock.

Fenric stood up in a more relaxed stance once more as he took in the appearance of the 'Package'. It was a small cage with a thick fabric cover over it, someone might be able to crouch inside it, but it was definitely too small to stand up in for a normal human. He spoke in a low voice as he strolled close to the cage.

"Listen, whoever you are I'm sorry for this but for now you will have to stay in the cage until we are in the air. Until I've got any prying eyes off me, I can't do anything to arouse suspicion. Understand?" As he got closer to the cage he noticed tiny runes carved into the bars. In his mind he was shocked. Such rune work as exceedingly rare, and this cage was probably one of the most valuable objects within this city. Whoever was inside had power that was no joke!

The runes and symbols once again glowed faintly under the covers on his hands and feet as he grabbed the nearest edge of the cage with one hand, lifting it up with apparent ease as he carried it back into the small cargo bay of the TRANSMISSION. He knew that Flint already must know some of his power so he wasn't worried about revealing such simple strength. He had much more important abilities to keep secret.

Two men stared in shock as they witnessed such strength on display, one stick thin with a gaunt expression, the other obscenely large with his eyes bulging at what he had just seen. A third figure spoke from the shadows behind them.

"you see gentlemen?" said the grating voice "There are not many left in this world who could compete with that young man when he puts his mind to it. He has the power to become a shaping force within what's left of these scattered lands" an unseen grin grew on the cloaked mans face.

"He just doesn't know it yet".

Chapter end